Nepal’s farmers built terraces into steep Himalayan slopes; now growing macaque populations are making it harder to keep their harvests |

Nepal’s mid-hills have long relied on terraced farming, with generations of farmers cultivating steep slopes for maize, millet, rice and other crops. But the relationship between farmland and wildlife is becoming increasingly difficult. Rhesus macaques now enter cultivated fields, often in large troops, damaging crops that families depend on for food and income. Wild boars…

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In 1976, a Vermont town buried a time capsule that included a joint, a garter belt and birth-control packaging; 50 years later, it opened it and plans a new one for 2076

In 1976, as the United States celebrated its bicentennial, residents of Warren, Vermont, decided to leave a message for the future. They filled a time capsule with objects that reflected everyday life, local humour and the era’s changing culture, then buried it beneath the town. Among the contents were a joint, a garter belt and…

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Volunteers removed nearly 100,000 sea urchins in Norway; the underwater deserts are now turning into forests with fish nurseries returning |

Nearly 100,000 sea urchins have been removed from three coastal sites in northern Norway by almost 500 volunteers working to bring back underwater kelp forests. Between April 2024 and May 2026, Rissa Citizen Science organised 23 restoration events at Sørsjetéen, Telegrafbukta and Øksfjord, with divers spending more than 20,000 minutes underwater clearing urchin barrens.The effort…

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More than a century ago, a railroad dam blocked Michigan’s Buckhorn Creek; after its removal, the stream is flowing freely again and a new 90-foot bridge now crosses above it

More than 100 years after a dam built beneath the historic Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad disrupted the natural flow of Buckhorn Creek, the waterway is running free again, and the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail now crosses it on a new 90-foot bridge. The Muskegon River Watershed Assembly (MRWA), which has led the restoration…

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In 1976, a Texas Czech festival began as a fundraiser; 50 years later, couples married that year returned to its parade as grandparents with their children and grandchildren

Representative image from Canva In the small city of West, Texas, a annual celebration of Czech heritage began in 1976 as a modest fundraiser to support the local community. What started as a single day of polka music, kolaches and a hometown parade has grown over five decades into one of the state’s most beloved…

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Australian researchers heated used coffee grounds to 350°C and turned them into material that made concrete 29% stronger, replacing part of the sand |

After a cup of coffee is brewed, the grounds left behind are often discarded as waste. But researchers have found a way to turn them into a useful material for concrete. A 2023 study examined whether spent coffee grounds (SCG) could replace part of the sand used in concrete after being converted into biochar through…

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Australian researchers buried discarded plastic pipes inside mine waste-rock piles; cameras showed northern quolls entering and leaving the artificial dens, with conditions similar to natural shelters

The researchers looked at whether high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes could be used in waste-rock piles to create inexpensive artificial dens. What appears to be industrial waste could provide a small refuge for one of Australia’s most threatened marsupials. Researchers have begun converting discarded plastic piping into artificial dens at former mining sites in north-western Australia…

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Sheikh Hasina’s daughter quits as WHO regional head after fraud allegations

A day after the WHO regional committee recommended termination of her appointment as regional director for the South-East Asia Region, Saima Wazed, daughter of ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned from the post on Sept 9. Wazed’s resignation came amid probe by the UN health agency and Bangladesh authorities into allegations against her, which…

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